The present invention is in the field of telecommunications systems encompassing computer telephony integration (CTI) and data network telephony (DNT)-enabled communication centers, and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus for displaying communication center performance status and alerting communication center employees to transpiring events and states within the communication center.
The field of telecommunications has grown significantly with the advent of computer-integrated-telephony (CTI) and more recently, data-network-telephony (DNT). Contributions to both of these technologies have led to the advent of multimedia communications centers capable of handling a wide variety of communication types and mediums.
A large customer-care center serves as a good example of a telecommunications center that may be dedicated to serving a very large customer base through constant communication using state-of the-art techniques aided by intelligent software applications running on processors connected to the centers telecommunication system.
A communication center of the type described in this specification typically employs a plurality of agents whom have been trained to operate communication equipment and applications for the dedicated purpose of serving customers who call into the center.
A multimedia communication center enhanced with DNT capability as known to the inventor will include, along with a connection-oriented-switched-telephony (COST) system, an Internet protocol (IP) telephony system for handling communication events sourced from a data-packet-network (DPN), which, in many cases, is the well-known Internet network. It will be appreciated by one with skill in the art that agent responsibilities in such a system are expanded over those of a traditional or conventional call-in center to include working with e-mails, video mails, IP voice calls, computer-aided chat sessions, and other computer/network aided communication mediums.
In such a multimedia center agents are typically located at workstations adapted with equipment and network connections that are suitable for communication in both a COST and DNT environment. For example, each agent station typically comprises a telephone connected to a central COST routing system and a personal computer with a video display unit (PC/VDU), which is connected to a local-area-network LAN. The LAN is further connected to an IP routing system and agents receive IP calls routed to them over the LAN to their PC/VDU""s. In some cases, DNT capable telephones are also incorporated such that they may be switched from COST mode to DNT mode and back again.
In addition to enhanced equipment utilized at agent level, other equipment is provided for the purpose of automated interface with customers calling into the system at network level. Such equipment includes interactive voice response (IVR) systems, which may be adapted for both COST and DNT communication. In systems known to the inventor, intelligent routing is available at levels above the agent level (internal routing system).
CTI software known to the inventor as T-Server software is provided to run on processors implemented at switches and terminals existing in COST, and in some instances, DPN network levels for the purpose of providing intelligent routing routines to be executed at network level. These CTI processors are interconnected with a separate DPN such that routing commands may be communicated between instances of T-Servers. Moreover, additional data may be obtained about a caller at network level and passed to agent level over the separate data network, often ahead of a routed communication event.
Extending intelligent routing capability into networks allows performance of agent level routing from within a network. These routing rules are, of course, adapted to communication center capability. For example, statistical call routing, predictive call routing, skill-based routing, priority routing and other routines known to the inventor may be utilized at network level.
With all of the advanced routing and communication capabilities available in the art, communication center managers and supervisors must continually motivate agents working in the center along with managing agent function in accordance with the agent""s designated duties. One of the traditional tools used for this purpose is known in the art as a communication center display board sometimes referred to as a signboard.
A communication-center display board is a computerized display system that is hung or mounted in a centrally visible location within a communication center for the purpose of providing call-load status, call event alerts, motivational messages, and any other information that managers deem pertinent to agent function and performance. A good example of a communication-center display board existing in prior art is the NetBrite(trademark) display system provided by SYMON(trademark).
The NetBrite(trademark) system comprises a network-connected, full matrix, light-emitting-diode (LED) display board that may be configured for the type of data that is to be displayed to agents. The system has an internal sound card and speaker system including software for playing WAV, NMDI and other audio files as well as steaming audio. The system may be configured to a number of differing modes such as flashing data, scrolling data, page-through data, and audible alerting. Moreover, the physical display interface may be configured to display a plurality of separate addressable sections for individualizing portions of the display for an agent or group of agents.
Display systems like the one described in the example above are network-connected and receive data directly from a data server or servers providing the status and performance information for communication center activity. The system uses standard network data wiring and connection means for interface and integration to a communication center LAN system enhanced typically with transfer control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) capability.
One obvious problem associated with a display system of this type is that it is shared by many communication center agents who must devote a significant amount of attention to the system throughout their workday. Diverting attention to the common or shared system may take away from or delay other agent duties. Another drawback with a common or shared system is that the volume level must be loud enough for all agents to hear. In some cases, this fact may distract some agents engaged in audible communication with customers. Still another problem is that the display characteristic is limited to a compact set of abstractly metered data, which an agent must read to understand and act upon.
What is clearly needed is a communication center status reporting and warning system that may be distributed to and executed from individual agent stations such that an agent need not devote primary attention to a shared system. Such a system could be configured to use graphical images as well as audible conventions for data provision and would allow a system-trained agent to quickly grasp communication center status and alert states without diverting the agent from other duties.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in a call center having agent stations each having a personal computer with a video display unit (PC/VDU), a system for informing agents of call center-related status is provided, comprising a server tracking call center activities and calculating status for individual call center entities, the server connected on a network in the call center; and an agent-informing application executing on individual ones of the PC/VDUs at agent stations, the PC/VDUs at the agent stations also connected on the network. The system is characterized in that the application draws on status data from the server and provides status information to an agent using an individual PC/VDU through output apparatus of the individual PC/VDU.
In some embodiments status includes status and warnings related to transaction queues to which the agent using a PC/VDU is related. The software may provide graphic displays indicating call center status information, audio renditions through a speaker associated with the PC/VDU used by the agent, or combinations thereof. Audio may be played over call conversations at a level not interrupting the conversations.
In another aspect of the invention a software application for use with a personal computer having a video display unit (PC/VDU) at an agent station in a call center is provided, comprising an access module for drawing status information from a server connected on a common network with the PC/VDU; and a rendition module for rendering the status information through output apparatus of the PC/VU for an agent using the PC/VDU.
In a preferred embodiment rendition is by graphic and text display on the video display monitor of the PC/VDU. Rendition may also be by audio rendition through a speaker associated with the PC/VDU used by the agent, and audio may be provided over telephone conversations engaged in by the agent. The status information includes status and warnings related to transaction queues to which the agent using a PC/VDU is related.
In another aspect of the invention, in a call center having agent stations each having a personal computer with a video display unit (PC/VDU), a method for informing agents of call center-related status is provided, comprising steps of (a) drawing status information by a software application executing on an individual (PC/VDU) from a server commonly connected on a communication network with the PC/VDU at the agent station; and (b) rendering the information to an agent using the PC/VDU through output apparatus of the PC/VDU.
In preferred embodiments of the method, in step (a), status includes status and warnings related to transaction queues to which the agent using a PC/VDU is related. Also in preferred call center status information may be provided to an agent by audio rendition through a speaker associated with the PC/VDU used by the agent, or by text and graphic displays, or in combination. The audio-rendered information may be rendered over telephony call audio as an agent converses with a caller, at a whisper lever.
In embodiments of the present invention, taught in enabling detail below, for the first time a system is provided for informing agents of status information in a call center, wherein information and its presentation may be tailored to individual agents, and provided in a manner to avoid disturbing other agents, or distracting the receiving agents attention from other tasks.